White Sox legend Minnie Minoso passes away - Minnie Minoso, the first Black player for the Chicago White Sox, passed away March 1, according to the Chicago Sun-Times. He was 90. Minoso, called the "Cuban Comet," blazed a trail for Latin American players in the big leagues starting in the 1950s. Minoso drove in 100 runs four times for the Sox and hit .300 or better six times. ...

Upcoming: Patner memorial; StoryCorps; El Rescate homelessness panel - Patner memorial set for March 18 The memorial service for Andrew Patner has been rescheduled for Wed., March 18, at 7-9 p.m., in Orchestra Hall, 220 S. Michigan Ave. There will be a reception following the service. Patner, a longtime Chicago critic in print, radio and television, passed away Jan. 3. He was 55. Patner was active within both in ...

PASSAGES Chicago activist Barbara 'Robbie' Smith dies - Family and friends have announced the passing of beloved Chicago community member and mentor to many, Barbara "Robbie" Smith. Born May 25, 1946, Smith died Feb. 14, 2015. Her gay community activism started in the 1960s. Smith was a longtime Affinity board member, managed the organization's finances for 12 years, was a founding member of Forty Plus, and was a ...

PASSAGES Jerre Robert Donnelly, social worker and artist, dies - Jerre Robert Donnelly of Chicago, Illinois, died Saturday, Feb. 7 at his home after a brief reoccurrence of cancer. He was 73. After his graduation from the University of Cincinnati and a successful career in retail design for several prominent companies in the United States and the United Kingdom, Mr. Donnelly earned his Master's degree from the Jane Addams School ...

PASSAGES Leslie Gore dies at 68 - Leslie Gorea singer-songwriter who topped the charts in 1963 with her song "It's My Party" and followed it with the hits "Judy's Turn to Cry" and "You Don't Own Me"has died at age 68, according to Newstalk1010.com. According to her partner of 33 years, Gore died Feb. 16 of cancer at New York-Presbyterian Hospital in Manhattan. Quincy Jones discovered Gore ...

Friends and colleagues remember Andrew Patner - Andrew Patner, a longtime Chicago critic in print, radio and television, passed away Jan. 3. He was 55. Cause of death was a sudden bacterial infection, according to his partner, Tom Bachtell. In a Facebook post, Bachtell wrote of Patner's unexpected passing, "Our Andrew is no more." Patner was active within both in Chicago's fine arts world, and LGBT and ...

Indiana woman in first same-sex marriage dies - Niki Quasneythe Munster, Indiana, woman who, along with her wife Amy Sandlerbecame one of the most prominent figures in the movement last year to legalize same-sex marriage in the state, has died at age 38, the Indy Star reported. She died Feb. 5, more than five years after she was diagnosed with ovarian cancer. Last spring, a federal judge granted ...

Denying LGBTQ
identities
in death - My mother was recently diagnosed with terminal cancer, and so end-of-life issues are much on my mind. When she passesa straight, cisgender womanshe will be buried next to my father under a common gravestone, with the name she prefers. Our family will honor both her individual identity and the life she and my father created together. Not all LGBTQ people ...

PASSAGES
Matthew Doeseckle - Matthew Phillips Doeseckle died Dec. 23, 2014, at the age of 33. He is survived by his partner, Craig Jones of Montgomery, Illinois; his mother, Sharon Lehman Doeseckle of Naperville, Illinois; his father, Robert Doeseckle of Honolulu, Hawaii; and a plethora of family and friends. Doeseckle was born Oct. 29, 1981 and grew up in Lisle, Illinois, graduating from the ...

Critic Andrew Patner has died - Andrew Patner, a longtime Chicago critic in print, radio and online media, has died of a bacterial infection. He was 55. WFMT General Manager Steve Robinson distributed this email statement: "It is with a profound sense of sadness, sorrow and shock that we must announce that our dear friend and colleague, Andrew Patner, passed away this morning after a very ...

Original 'ex-ex-gay' John Evans dies - From a TWO press release - CHICAGO  Truth Wins Out today mourned the death of John Evans, a man who in 1973 co-founded the first modern "ex-gay" ministry, Love in Action. He quit this ministry a few years later after his friend, Jack McIntyre, committed suicide because he could not change his sexual orientation. Evans spent the remainder of this life speaking out against "pray ...

PASSAGES Punk rocker Meghan Galbraith dies
- Meghan Galbraith, 35, front woman for the queer Chicago-based rock/pop/punk trio band 8 Inch Betsy, died Jan. 22 after a year-long illness. Galbraith was born Aug. 13, 1979, in Waukegan, Illinois, and graduated from Waukegan High School. Shortly after moving to Chicago in 1997, Galbraith began working at Beans and Bagel on Montrose eventually becoming a manager of the location. ...

'Mr. Cub' Ernie Banks dies - Chuck Jacobson was living and working in Chicago in 2005 when he went to New York City for a June weekend to watch his beloved Cubs play against the Yankees at iconic, original Yankee Stadium. Jacobson, who was sitting near the Cubs dugout, had gotten a foul ball from then-Cubs manager Dusty Bakerand boy did that ball come in handy. ...

Chris Johnson, printer, artist, feminist leader, dies - Christine Johnson, a former Chicagoan who played a key role in the early Women-in-Print and women in trades movements locally and nationally, died Jan. 23 of complications from cancer. She was 63. Johnson and Nancy Poore were married in Canada in February 2007, their anniversary. This February would have marked their 34th year together. Johnson, originally from Cincinnati, was a ...

Tim Mitchell service Jan. 22 at Old St. Pat's - A memorial mass for Tim Mitchell will be held Thursday, Jan. 22, at 6:30 p.m. at Old St. Patrick's Church, 700 W. Adams St. Mitchell, 49, a former Chicago Park District chief and aide under Mayor Richard M. Daley, died Dec. 3, 2014, of natural causes. Mitchell was a gay man, but that fact was not widely known to the ...

PASSAGES
Retired city official
and pharmacist
Richard Johnson dies - Richard Johnson, 69, a retired City of Chicago employee and pharmacist, died Jan. 6 after a long struggle with emphysema. Johnson was a fixture in Chicago's LGBT community for many years. Johnson was born March 23, 1945, in Annapolis, Maryland, but grew up in Batavia, Illinois. His father owned a drugstore in Batavia, which led to Johnson's interest in becoming ...

Looking back: National passages in 2014 - Extended for the online edition of Windy City Times - Father Robert Nugent: Nugent, SDSa co-founder of New Ways Ministry, an organization that cares for gay and lesbian Catholicspassed away Jan. 1 in Milwaukee. Francis DeBernardo, New Ways Ministry's executive director, said of Nugent, "During a time of intense homophobia in both church and society, he exhibited uncommon courage and foresight in welcoming and affirming the goodness of God's ...

PASSAGES Laurie Benz, 57, dies - Laurie Benz, an out lesbian and feminist singer-songwriter, among other roles in the music industry, passed away peacefully in the Chicago area on Jan. 4 after a long struggle from a debilitating stroke. She was 57. "Laurie was truly unique, and Lesbian Nation now must say goodbye to one of its sparkliest lights," said activist/publisher Toni Armstrong Jr. "She was ...

Or Chadash congregant
Joseph Shure passes away
- Joseph Shurea member of the LGBT-affirming Congregation Or Chadash in Chicago for more than three decades and a veteran of World War IIpassed away Dec. 30, 2014, at the age of 89. "He was very much involved with the arts," Or Chadash Rabbi Emeritus Laurence L. Edwards, Ph.D., told Windy City Times. "He was an art collector and a music, ...

Former N.Y. governor
Mario Cuomo dies at 82 - Mario Cuomoa three-term New York governor ( 1983-94 ) and father of the state's current governor, Andrew Cuomodied New Year's Day at 82. Mario's death came the same day as Andrew was inaugurated for a second term, USA Today noted. George Pataki overcame Mario's bid for a fourth gubernatorial term. Mario decided against a run for president in 1991, leaving ...

Looking back: Local passages - Joy Hightower Morris, the celebrated Chicago transgender- and HIV-rights activist; founder of TransActions; and organizing force behind the Legends Lunch All Stars Awards, honoring the lives and resilience of trans* individuals and those living with HIV/AIDSpassed away Dec. 6 after a long battle with cancer. Carl Occhipinti, 61, the retired artistic director of Village Players, passed away Jan. 3. ...

Chicago's dance world
mourns loss of
Eric Eatherly - The news of Eric Eatherly's passing spread quickly through Chicago's close-knit arts community. Eatherly was killed in a car accident Dec. 29 during a family visit in Tennessee. Eric graduated from Northwestern University in 2001 with degrees in dance and sociology. Billy Siegenfeldfounder and artistic director of the Jump Rhythm Jazz Project, and professor of dance at Northwestern University since ...

Former State Rep. Rosemary Mulligan, LGBT ally, dies - Former state Rep. Rosemary Mulligan, a Republican who represented the state's 65th district, died Dec. 30, according to Personal PAC CEO and President Terry Cosgrove, a close friend. She was 73. Mulligan was in office from 1993-2013, and a supporter of LGBT rights at a time when it was an especially risky stance in her party. She came into office ...

PASSAGES Leelah Alcorn - A transgender teenager committed suicide in Ohio on Dec. 28, stepping in front of a moving tractor trailer truck. Leelah Alcorn was killed by the passing semitrailer on southbound Interstate 71 in Union Township. Alcorn left a gripping, emotional suicide note on her blog at Tumblr, detailing a troubled life, dominated by Christian parents who rejected their transgender child. "Please ...

PASSAGES Former Ald. "Berny" Stone passes away
- Former Ald. Bernard L. "Berny" Stone, who long represented the city's 50th Ward, passed away Dec. 22. He was 87. Stone's health deteriorated quickly after he sustained a fall in his home Dec. 20, according to reports. "He was the most honest, most wonderful, caring, loving [and] giving man. He lived for his community," daughter Ilana Feketitsch told ABC 7. ...

PASSAGES Albert Mallett dies - Albert Mallett, 70, world traveler, retired H.R. specialist at Burlington North Santa Fe Railroad, who enjoyed a second career as a chef, passed away unexpectedly at home December 14, 2014. Son of the late Albert and Cenida ( nee Turner ) Mallett. Dear friend of Earl Maupins, Marjorie Walton , Mary SÃ­eradzka, and Charles Boyd. Memorial service, early 2015, Church ...

PASSAGES Harry N. Stamm - Harry N. Stamm, "Chris", 58, former instructor at Harrington Institute of Interior Design for many years and Robert Morris College, passed away unexpectedly at home December 15, 2014. Beloved son of the late Harry J. Stamm and Lorraine A. Stamm ( nee Nelson ), brother of Barbara Stamm, cousin of many, and close friend to Joe Babula, John Kvedaras and ...

PASSAGES Stonewall veteran Danny Garvin dies - Danny Garvin, one of the few remaining "Stonewall veterans," died in New York, according to GayNZ.com. Garvin had been among only around 20 people still living to tell the tales of the June 28, 1969, event at New York's Stonewall Inn that gave rise to the gay-rights movement. According to a statement from David Carter, author of Stonewall: The Riots ...

PASSAGES Judy Baar Topinka dies - Just weeks after being re-elected into her post by Illinois voters, State Comptroller Judy Baar Topinka passed away from complications following a stroke Dec. 10. "The Illinois political scene lost its Polka Queen last night and I lost a friend," said Sen. Dick Durbin in a statement. "In a political world of cocker spaniels she could be a bulldog taking ...

PASSAGES Trans* activist Joy Morris dies - Joy Hightower Morristhe celebrated Chicago transgender and HIV activist, founder of TransActions, and organizing force behind the Legends Lunch All Stars Awards honoring the lives and resilience of trans* individuals and those living with HIV/AIDSpassed away Dec. 6 after a long battle with cancer. Windy City Times interviewed Morris on two occasions over the past two years. During bothand even ...

House of Infiniti
founder dies - Special to the online edition of Windy City Times - Ross M. Ramseythe founder of House of Infiniti who lived in New York and had direct ties to many national ballroom cities, particularly Chicagodied Dec. 2. He was in his 50s. A memorial was held Dec. 9 in New York. Services were held Dec. 13 at St. John Fire Baptized Holiness Church in Brooklyn. Ramsey was a community advocate, mentor ...

Longtime city official Tim Mitchell dies - [UPDATE: A memorial mass for Tim Mitchell will be held Thursday, Jan. 22, at 6:30 p.m. at Old St. Patrick's Church, 700 W. Adams St. ]. Timothy J. ( Tim ) Mitchell, 49, former Chicago Park District chief and Mayor Richard M. Daley aide, died Dec. 3 of natural causes. Mitchell was a gay man, but that fact was not ...

PASSAGES Celebration of Life for Linzy Kay - A Celebration of Life for James "Linzy Kay" Studt will be held at Touché, 6412 N. Clark St. Sunday, Dec. 7. From 2-4 p.m. friends and family members will gather to remember the remarkable life of Linzy Kay. Born July 19, 1945, James/Linzy grew up in Elgin before enlisting in the U.S. Navy at 17. James trained at the Great ...

Director Mike Nichols dies - Mike Nichols, the entertainment icon and husband of ABC News anchor Diane Sawyer, died suddenly at the age of 83, ABC News reported. Nichols was born in Germany in 1931, and came to the United States when he was 7, when his family escaped Nazi Germany. He graduated from the Walden School in New York City, and began pursuing theater ...

PASSAGES Trans lesbian author Leslie Feinberg dies - The following obituary was provided by the family, and uses female pronouns per Feinberg's request. Leslie Feinberg, who identified as an anti-racist white, working-class, secular Jewish, transgender, lesbian, female, revolutionary communist, died Nov. 15. She succumbed to complications from multiple tick-borne co-infections, including Lyme disease, babeisiosis, and protomyxzoa rheumatica, after decades of illness. She died at home in Syracuse, NY, ...

PASSAGES Eraineya Stone Newell dies - Eraineya Stone Newell, a Chicago native and entertainer locally for about 25 years, particularly at North Side bars, died in her sleep Nov. 13. She was 50. She died of complications associated with diabetes. Known on the drag circuit as Eraineya Stone (pronounced uh-rain-knee-uh), she performed at Hydrate, Circuit, Charlie's and Jackhammer, among other area bars. She was partners with ...

PASSAGES Veteran Michele Parisi dies
- Navy veteran Michele Parisi was found dead in her room on the morning of Thursday Nov. 6, according to friends. Parisi joined the American Veterans for Equal Rights ( at the time named Gay Lesbian Bisexual Veterans of America ), in 1992. In 1997 she was elected chapter vice president for one year. Michele has been a faithful member attending ...

Robert Richard Redman Jr, 73, dies - Robert Richard Redman Jr, 73; of Chicago, native of Lowell, MA; passed away suddenly Nov. 6, 2014. After graduating from Lowell High School Class of 1958 and serving in the U.S. Air Force, Bob earned his B.A. from Chicago's Loyola University. Bob retired from Kaplan University and Kaplan Financial and will always be remembered as a gentle heart, great friend, ...

PASSAGES Former Chicagoan Steven Moore dies - UPDATE BELOW Nov. 9 service planned - Steven Moore, a former Chicago resident who moved to Colorado about two years ago and was the executive director of the National Gay Pilots Association, died Oct. 27 in a plane crash in Boulder County, Colo. He was 35. Moore was flying at about 7:45 a.m., when his plane went down. According to 9News in Colorado, an NBC affiliate in ...

Lesbian veteran to be buried with late wife in Idaho cemetery - ( Boise, ID, October 22, 2014 )A 74-year-old Navy veteran who challenged Idaho's marriage equality ban so she could be buried with her late wife in Idaho's state-run veterans cemetery will have her wishes respected after Idaho state officials agreed to allow the couple to be interred together. Today, Madelynn "Lee" Taylor went to the Idaho State Veterans Cemetery to ...

PASSAGES Roland A. Kline - Roland A. Kline, one of the first openly gay real estate agents in Chicago, died Sept. 13. He had been fighting Parkinson 's disease and colon cancer, and was in hospice at the Riley Home in Munster, Indiana. Kline was 74. "His passion was antique cars; he had quite a collection at one time and really enjoyed sharing them with ...

Joan Rivers dies - Joan Rivers, a witty, sometimes-controversial comic, actor, TV host, author and producer, has died at age 81. As a stand-up comic she fought for her rightful place in a sexist industry, and her career went into higher gear as co-host of E! TV's Fashion Police. Her first of many appearances TV's The Tonight Show was in 1965, and that helped ...

PASSAGES: Healthcare advocate Caryn Berman dies - Longtime healthcare advocate Caryn Berman, 62, died Sept. 1 of cancer. Berman told the story of her fight against cancer for an Aug. 6 Windy City Times article. She spoke of her wife of 36 years, Laura Cuzzillo, and of saying goodbye to friends and family. The memorial will be Sunday, Sept. 21, 2 p.m., Jewish Reconstructionist Congregation, 303 Dodge ...

PASSAGES Point Foundation co-founder, 40, dies - Point Foundation co-founder Carl Strickland, 40, has died in a boating accident at Lake Tahoe, Nevada, Frontiers LA reported. Strickland and his partner of 17 years, Bruce Lindstrom, created the Point Foundation in 2001 to provide scholarship funds to LGBT students. Since its inception, Point has provided more than $15 million in the education and support of its scholars. According ...

PASSAGES Robert "Rob" Paradise dies - Extended for on online edition of Windy City Times - Robert "Rob" Paradise, a longtime and popular softball player and coach in the Chicago Metropolitan Sports Association (CMSA), died Aug. 18a day after the final game of the 2014 Open Division Sunday Softball League season. He was a local high school math teacher who lived in Uptown, and a diehard Chicago Bears fan. He is originally from Hammond, Indiana. Paradise ...

Billie Letts, mother of Chicago playwright Tracy Letts, dies - Billie Letts, the mother of the Chicago playwright Tracy Letts, recently died in her home state of Oklahoma, The Chicago Tribune reported. Billie, who was 76, was a highly regarded novelist ( as well as a teacher and screenplay writer ) whose works include Where the Heart Is, which sold more than 3 million copies and was turned into a ...

PASSAGES Robin Williams found dead at 63 - Groundbreaking comic Robin Williams, 63, was found dead of an apparent suicide, according to the Marin County Sheriff's Office. The comic, who was fighting depression, was heralded as one of the best comics of all time by friends, colleagues and fans. Williams was a star of standup, stage, TV and movies, and he was unafraid to take on a wide ...

PASSAGES: Veronica "Ro" Gazzillo (nee Soper), Force assistant coach - Veronica "Ro" Gazzillo (nee Soper), who was an All-Star player and then an assistant coach for the Chicago Force, died unexpectedly Sunday, Aug. 10, at her home in Evanston. She was 39. Gazzillo played for the Force in 2010 and was named an Independent Women's Football League (IWFL) All-Star and the 2010 Force Offensive MVP. She was unable to play ...

PASSAGES Raymond G.
Hughes - Raymond Hughes died on June 25 at Swedish Covenant Hospital in Chicago, surrounded by family and friends who loved him dearly. He was 57. He was born in Wyoming, Michigan, to Jean and Donald Hughes on July 27, 1956. He graduated from Godwin Heights High School as a National Merit Scholar, and received a B.A. from Loyola University with a ...

THE AMAZON TRAIL Nancy Garden: Lesbian hero - People all over the world were heartbroken to hear of Nancy Garden's death in June. The Golden Crown Literary Society ( GCLS ) was only weeks from presenting her an award for her beloved 1982 novel Annie On My Mind. Thousands upon thousands of kids worldwide found understanding of themselves or others by reading the classic young adult romance between ...

PASSAGES Thomas C. Senesac - Thomas C. Senesac, died July 19, 2014 after having battled stomach cancer for the last year and a half with grace, determination and his own special brand of humor. Mr. Senesac was the son of the late Joseph E. and Narda Gennaro Senesac, and is survived by his beloved partner of thirty-seven years, Bob Hoagland, his sister, Dr. Pamela M. ...

Chicago lesbian activist Joanne Marie Bristol dies - PASSAGES - Joanne Marie Bristol, 59, passed away peacefully on July 19, 2014 at her home in Logan Square. "She chose to go at sunrise with a songbird in her heart," her friend Kathy Munzer said. The service will take place on Saturday Aug. 9 at 3 p.m. at Euclid Avenue United Methodist Church, 405 S Euclid Avenue, Oak Park. Bristol suffered ...

PASSAGES Elaine Stritch dies at 89 - Legendary Broadway and screen actress Elaine Stritch has died at the age of 89. Stritch, whose stage career began in the 1940s, is perhaps known for her association with Broadway composer Stephen Sondheim. Stritch nabbed Tony nominations for William Inge's 1955 play Bus Stop, Sondheim's Company and Noel Coward's 1961 musical Sail Away before winning just a few years ago ...

Chicago lesbian, 26, loses battle with cancer - They met on OkCupid, a free online dating site, and went on their first date on Sept. 17, 2010. But Wil Abtahi didn't really know that was a date, or just two friends getting together. They had gotten tea, went to a comic book store and were at Lenya Friesner's home to watch a movie. Friesner turned to Abtahi and ...

PASSAGES: Former U.S. Sen. Alan Dixon dies - Alan Dixon, who served two terms in the U.S. Senate from Illinois, died July 6 at his home in downstate Fairview Heights. He was 86. Dixon, a Democrat, served in the Senate from 1981 until 1993. He was defeated by Carol Moseley Braun in the Democratic primary, his first political loss in more than 40 years of public life. Last ...

PASSAGES Wil Abtahi - Wil Abtahi ( nee Wilhelmine Abtahi ), 26, native of Oak Park, IL; passed away July 5, 2014 in the presence of loving family. Later coverage at the link: http://www.windycitymediagroup.com/lgbt/Chicago-lesbian-26-loses-battle-with-cancer/48286.html . Wil is survived by partner of four years, Lenya Friesner, father Stephen "Grasshopper" Abtahi, two faithful feline companions, Prancy and Loki, and many friends. After attending Oak Park River ...

Former Chicagoan Frank Robinson dies, Milk speechwriter - Frank M. Robinson, a former Chicagoan who moved to San Francisco and later became a speechwriter for gay politician Harvey Milk, has died. He was inducted into the Chicago Gay and Lesbian Hall of Fame in 2009. Robinson launched two gay papers in Chicago during the early 1970s. He was a journalist, novelist, and award-winning science fiction writer. Robinson has ...

PASSAGES Naya Taylor - Windy City Times received word from Lambda Legal that Naya Taylor passed away June 20 unexpectedly passed away after complications from a heart attack. Lambda Legal was representing Taylor, a transgender woman, in an unrelated federal discrimination lawsuit because she had been denied medical care that is routinely provided to non-transgender patients. The WCT profile below is one of the ...

PASSAGES Author Nancy Garden dies - Nancy Garden, a lesbian award-winning author of fiction for children and young adults, has died at age 76. Her books included the lesbian teen novel Annie on My Mind. According to Amazon.com, the "book, first published in 1982, is the story of two teenage girls whose friendship blossoms into love and who, despite pressures from family and school that threaten ...

PASSAGES: Zoraida Reyes, transgender Latina activist - From an ALMA press release - The Association of Latino/as Motivating Action ( ALMA ) stands in solidarity with all LGBT Latino/as mourning the death of transgender Latina activist, Zoraida Reyes from Orange County, CA. Zoraida began her activism by advocating for the federal DREAM Act, which would have granted undocumented youth a path to citizenship. She continued her activism to push for immigration reform, most ...

PASSAGES Paul R. Rogers - Paul R. Rogers, 80, retired National Fashion Director of Men's Apparel for Sears, native of California, U.S. Army veteran, graduate of University of Southern California, passed away peacefully June 1, 2014. He loved the opera, reading by the lake, and going to dinner with friends. Preceded in death by partner Gerry Monahan and parents Paul and Mildred. Beloved brother of ...

Tajma's Hall's life celebrated
- Video links below - More than 100 friends and family packed into the youth center space at Center on Halsted May 31 to remember the contributions and love shared by performer Tajma Hall, who died April 19 of cardiac arrest. She was 44. Host for the event was Antonio King, and speakers included friends and family from across Chicago and the United States. Among ...

Lutter memorial set for June 11 - Memorial services for attorney and activist Paul Lutter will be held at 4 p.m. Wednesday, June 11, at Chicago Cultural Center, 78 E. Washington St. Lutter, 68, passed away May 4 following complications from surgery. He had been an attorney with the firm Bryan Cave LLC since 2004. Prior to working at Bryan Cave, Lutter was a partner with the ...

Tajma's Hall's celebration of life May 31 at Center - Tajma's Hall's celebration of life May 31 at Center A celebration of life for Tajma Hall will take place Saturday, May 31, at the Center on Halsted, 3656 N. Halsted St., 2-5 p.m. Hall, a Chicago-based entertainer who shined worldwide, died Saturday morning, April 19, of cardiac arrest at Evanston Hospital. She was 44. Hall won numerous pageants around the ...

Frankie Knuckles tribute June 3 in Millennium Park - A party paying tribute to the late "Godfather of House Music" Frankie Knuckles will take place Tuesday, June 3, 6-9 p.m. at Millennium Park's Chase Central Promenade, 201 E. Randolph St. ( The rain location will be the park's Chase North Promenade. ) There will be sets by Elbert Phillips, Craig Loftis, Greg Gray and Mike Winston following opening words ...

Tajma's Hall's celebration of life May 31 at Center - A celebration of life for Tajma Hall will take place Saturday, May 31, at the Center on Halsted, 3656 N. Halsted St., 2-5 p.m. Hall, a Chicago-based entertainer who shined worldwide, died Saturday morning, April 19, of cardiac arrest at Evanston Hospital. She was 44. Hall won numerous pageants around the world, including Miss Continental Plus in 2007 and Miss ...

PASSAGES Clifford R. Duske - Clifford R. Duskebeloved son of Irene and the late Ronald and the loving life partner of Michael D. Frustinipassed away recently, according to The Chicago Tribune. Duske was also the dearest brother of Marc ( Tracy ), and the dear uncle of Sean and Hunter. He was a loving member of the community who gave of himself selflesslya true gentleman ...

Friends of Tajma Hall: 'We lost an icon' - UPDATE: Memorial information below - Jason Hayes didn't hesitate when asked to describe Tajma Hall, who died unexpectedly on April 19 from cardiac arrest at Evanston Hospital. She was real, Hayes said. "In an industry where you spend your entire career putting on a face that is not yours, performing a song that is not yours, dancing to someone else's music to entertain a crowd ...

Hundreds pay tribute to Frankie Knuckles - Progressive Baptist Church on South Wentworth in Chicago was packed with hundreds of people wanting to say goodbye to the founder of House Music, DJ Frankie Knuckles April 21. Knuckles, who was openly gay and honored for his DJ work around the world, died March 31 at age 59. Among the well-wishers were Gov. Pat Quinn and other politicians, fellow ...

Lady Tajma Hall dies
- Updated with funeral information - Tajma Hall, a Chicago-based entertainer who shined worldwide, died Saturday morning, April 19, of cardiac arrest at Evanston Hospital. She was 44. The Continental Pageantry System of Chicago, which showcases female performers and entertainment, confirmed the passing on its Facebook page: "With great sadness and a heavy heart we wish to inform every one of the passing of Tajma Hall. ...

Frankie Knuckles memorial April 21
- A celebration of life for the legendary Chicago house music DJ Frankie Knuckles will be Monday, April 21, 6-9 p.m. at Progressive Baptist Church, 3658 S. Wentworth Ave., Chicago. In lieu of flowers donations may be made to either in the memory of Frankie to: American Diabetes Association — diabetes.org or Gay Men Health Crisis of NYC- gmhc.org . See ...

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